


Synchronizing

by orphan_account



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Awkwardness, Birthdays, Claudia Stilinski Feels, D/s themes, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Humor, M/M, Mates, Pack Dad Derek Hale, Pack Dynamics, Scent Marking, Senior year, Skype, The Witch Is Dead, The whole package kinda, Touchy-Feely, True Alpha Scott, Wolf Derek, dealing with the future, dealing with the past, more tags added later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-20 08:26:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1503653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek Hale the werewolf becomes Werewolf Derek Hale (as confusing as that sounds), Stiles gets an upgrade from Anchor to Mate, Malia, Lydia and Peter wade through weirdness, Kira and Scott are sickeningly perfect for each other, and Danny is secretly Gossip Girl.</p><p>Lots of really self-indulgent stuff with sprinkles of Plot here and there. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Falls One Rises

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! It is I!  
> I have come from the future (literally, if you live in the US) to show you my great vision of hope. Hope for Sterek!!!
> 
> I try updating this every weekend. Don't hold me to that, though, I'm bad at deadlines.
> 
>  
> 
> Warnings:  
> -Stiles is underage for a little while during this. Sorry, but Derek won't do the do with a minor because he has morals. Somewhere. Since a while. I think he found them in Mexico on his retreat with Cora.  
> -Malia deserves a fucking chance and that's what I'm giving her! I ignore all the fucked up stuff that they did with her to address the real fucking issues. No, she's not in High School here, because she's hardly up to the level of a senior puh-lease.  
> -I do not however make all the old cast reappear (with the exception of Cora). Let's just say, as a general rule, if they're canonically dead, I won't find a way to resurrect them as a were-jaguar or something crazy like that. Seriously, who does that?!  
> -English isn't my mother tongue so please, please, if you want to beta read I kindly ask you to contact me about that. I don't want to ruin the story with grammar mistakes or bad continuity.  
> -Be kind to each other, all of the time, and respect other people for what they do. WRITERS AND ACTORS ARE PEOPLE AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH!
> 
> Love you, fandom!

Laura would have told him it was a long way coming. Peter had essentially said exactly the same, though not the literal words. Once he gets to his Loft and calls Cora, she’ll agree with them. Everyone close to Derek knew that he was completely disconnected from himself, ever since the fire and Kate. And somehow he feels like he should have known that fixing Kate was the only thing that would fix him in the end.

 

Ok, so they didn’t fix Kate. And they could never fix all of the bad things she’s done. But Scott, Kira, Stiles, Malia and he had positively taken her off the battlefield. There was no way this time that she could come back.

So there was all the more time for Derek to admire the fact that, while Laura had never managed it, he was seeing the world from another perspective now.

A very low perspective.

 

Like, about 40 inches closer to the ground than before.

 

He absently senses everyone’s eyes on him. He’s kind of stuck still in shock himself. Nobody, especially himself, ever thought that this was possible. For a beta, all the more!

“I thought werewolves couldn’t do that…” he hears Malia’s confused voice ring to him. There’s a short moment where Scott tries to explain, “Well, his mom could-“

And then there’s Stiles’ voice barreling through the tentative atmosphere, practically yelling into the cold night air: “Dude! You’re a freaking wolf!”

 

Almost as if through the shock of someone speaking out the words he takes a defensive stance, fur along his neck roughed up but tail tucked between his legs in fear. The fear of rejection. Because, while he knew that his before him was his pack. Scott his alpha, Malia his cousin, Kira his friend, and Stiles his anchor. But he was different now. He wasn’t just Derek the beta. The former alpha. He was the Hale wolf now. Like his mother had been before him. And that could make him a threat for the pack. His presence would call other packs to Beacon Hills again. Packs interested in the mystery of their curious mutation. Packs wondering if they can take Scott down and own Derek for their pack. Packs interested in guidance, but also ones interested in power.

“Derek, calm down. It’s just us!” Scott tries in his alpha voice. But right now it doesn’t work. Right now Derek is an omega, and the realization hits him hard and makes him cower closer to the ground and growl louder at them.

 

“Do you think he wants to be alpha again? Will he want to kill Scott?”

That was Kira asking. She sounded upset, torn even, which was touching. He didn’t think that their friendship could size up to her connection to Scott. They were a very good pair, after all. They fit, but challenged each other. A proper alpha pair.

“No, of course not. Derek never- he never wanted to be an alpha.”

And then Stiles, the vulnerable human, his precious anchor, did something very stupid.

He slowly started walking towards Derek.

All of Derek’s senses went into overdrive at the, frankly ridiculous, instinct of threat. He could hear Stiles heartbeat, his breathing, the crunching of leaves on dry ground underneath his feet with every careful step he took towards him.

There was a hand, slowly reaching forward as Stiles neared him.

Derek growled at that hand, because he remembered the things the hand usually did to him. Slap him, punch him, and accuse him.

“Derek, please don’t bite my hand off. Remember, it’s me, Stiles. The really cool guy who held you up in a pool for several hours.”

Save him.

He stopped growling, at least, with that reminder. And that was really the only reason he paid enough attention to catch the scent. It wasn’t the first time he’d smelled it. Burned dust, cotton, sugar and something minty. That was Stiles usual scent. But there was something new now. Something that made Derek whine and lunge towards the approaching human, ignoring his protests when they both hit the ground, and burrowing his nose deeply in his chest.

 

Security. Happiness. Pack. Family. _Mate._

 

He felt Stiles’ hand leave his back slowly, pulling away from him slowly but not pushing him away when Derek’s hands cling to his shirt to keep him close.

Derek’s hands…

Derek’s hands!

His head shoots up, staring right into Stiles’ red face and yeah, he knows he’s butt naked right now. He has to be. His mom always was after transforming back.

“Uh,” Scott coughs from where they’re still all standing, facing away now, “someone should get Derek some clothes. We have to get out of here before the police finds us with a dead body that was supposed to be buried already.”

 

 

Derek can’t take his eyes off Stiles’ face. It’s stupid he knows, and Stiles calls him out on it, but having a crush on the boy and knowing that he is his _mate_ are two completely different things. Staring at him, literally memorizing every part of his face, is an instinct. It’s really either that or cuddling into him again, which Derek doubts Stiles will find any less disturbing than the staring.

So staring it is.

“Are we there yet? I’m getting more spooked by the second, Scott.”

“Almost. I called Deaton already so he knows what’s going on.”

Mostly. Derek clearly remembers talk about his new form, but none about his behavior towards Stiles. Which is good for him, he supposes.

If Deaton had told Scott on the phone that Derek has recognized Stiles as his mate, the alpha would make a U-Turn for the coast and find a cliff to push Derek off before he’s get any time to explain himself.

 

Besides, for all of Stiles protests, he can’t seem to look away or keep a straight face either. They’re sharing grins of questionable meaning and Stiles’ doesn’t seem to feel the need for teasing or running commentary. It feels like an actual achievement that Derek could put in his résumé one day.

 

They eventually reach the vet’s office. Derek climbs out of the back of his own car, clad in Scott’s spare Lacrosse shorts and Stiles’ red hoodie. It feels like a walk of shame, following the guys into the waiting area and instantly being eyed by Deaton like an object in a museum filled with bizarre skeletons; Or one of those artificial mermaids of Victorian times, which he only knows about because of his History major.

“Come to the back. I’m gonna need you to turn back so that I can examine you.”

And was all the talk they heard from him for what felt like an eternity that Derek spent on all wolfy fours on a cold metal table. The emissary measures everything, checks his vitals, looks into his mouth… Derek was tempted to bite his hand at some point, but he was pretty sure he wanted Deaton on his side for what was to come very shortly after the examination was over.

Which was likely an intervention. One of the ‘don’t-kill-Derek-he’s politically-useful-and-totally-worships-your-best-friend’ kind.

 

Deaton finally pulls away from the examination table, putting a coarse looking blanket in front of Derek so he can transform without having the Doctor catch an eyeful, like his pack had to earlier. He’s grateful that his modesty is apparently of Deaton’s concern. He hopes it stays that way.

“You can come back in boys!”

Scott and Stiles enter just as Derek’s back to his very human and thankfully covered up self. He notes that Stiles stops for a moment and stares at him open-mouthed and can’t help but sit a little straighter with pride.

“So, he’s like Talia now?” Scott asks Deaton first.

“Yes, he’s able to perform a full shift. It will likely be his preferred shift too, in dangerous situations, which could be problematic.”

“Why?”

“Because as a wolf he’s more vulnerable than usual. He mostly holds symbolic power like this. He’ll be imposing, but he’s only a beta.” Deaton was cautiously looking at Derek now, as if he wasn’t sure what to say next. Because he knew Scott’s trust in Derek might be on the line.

But Derek had slowly come to trust Scott. They truly were brothers now, they protected each other. Scott would never believe that Derek would try and take his powers from him.

“My mother could control wolves that weren’t in her pack. Even alpha’s.” he started to continue Deaton’s explanation. “That was part of why nobody ever tried to kill her in hopes of stealing her power. It was what kept our entire family away from any of that danger.”

There wasn’t a long pause in which they contemplated what to do with Derek now. There was no discussion of, should they or shouldn’t they.

There was only Stiles. Wonderful, smart Stiles.

“So what? We can all protect each other. And Derek can learn to make beta shift his default again.”

 _Beta shift?_ Derek couldn’t help the soft smile and normally he would have ducked his head to hide it but now everything was different. He was smiling directly at Stiles, raising his eyebrows in a question that he wasn’t sure Stiles would understand.

But somehow he understood and moved over so that Derek could burry his nose in his shoulder, like he had done before.

 

Which was like a cue for Scott to ask Deaton directly.

 

“Okay, so what is up with that? Does being cuddlier come with the fur?”

It was such a Stiles thing of Scott to say that Derek had to grin wider, and even chuckled into Stiles, who held him close by this point. Yeah, he was cuddlier. He even felt like being more affectionate towards Scott right now. But the need to be close like this most of the time was definitely a Stiles exclusive thing.

“Oh… Has he-“

“He’s been like this since he first transformed, yeah.” Stiles joined the conversation now. He slowly started stroking Derek’s back, though, so he didn’t mind. It wasn’t direct skin-to-skin contact but wherever his fingers went left a warm tingle underneath the werewolf’s skin. It felt amazing and he never wanted it to stop.

“I kind of brought him back from his first shift, so I guess I’m his anchor? But I didn’t know this comes with the territory…”

“It doesn’t.” Deaton answers Stiles’ silent question and the hand on his back stops moving instantly, which makes him whine pathetically. He’s at the boy’s mercy now. He knows it, and he hates it, but he wouldn’t change it for a thing.

“It doesn’t?” Stiles echoes the vet, head snapping forward with the words.

“No. If it’s right that Derek reconciled his human with his wolf side only after Kate’s death, then it could be that he just now recognized Stiles as his mate.”

 

“His what?” both boys said in chorus, making Derek wince with the implications. Yeah, he was fucked. And not in a good way.

 


	2. Conflicts of Interest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He should have listened to Cora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short delay.

Derek had been right all along. His life sucked. Big time. And he couldn’t even deny that he expected anything less.

Yes, he had been well aware the second that the word “mate” left Deaton’s mouth and Stiles’ eyes widened in shock, that none of this would be easy for them.

As much as he wished for it, the course of true love never did run smooth.

You’d think ‘hey, at least you already know he’s the one!’ But, no. The fact that Derek is achingly aware of what should be his but he can’t have is in no way easy. And with the added possessiveness of the wolf the feeling is amplified by a thousand. Imagine having a very whiny and lovesick twin that constantly talks to you in your head. With how much they’re conflicting at the moment Derek has been worrying he might actually be schizophrenic.

 

And all of these feelings are exactly the reason why he has to do something radical. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And desperate brothers call their little sister.

“Derek! Hey, I was just thinking about- whoa. Are you okay?”

Cora looked unsurprisingly good back in South America with their relatives. She seemed a lot healthier, with a little bit of a tan and an actual smile. Living with a well-functioning pack that was even similar to our old family has really helped her let go of her own bitterness. Derek still remembered back when he had his epiphany in their little village. They’d only been there for a few days. Everyone had been welcoming and nice. But contrary to everybody’s encouragement he hadn’t taken part in training. Of course, that was mostly because of the fact that he didn’t want anyone to know he was only half as strong as he could be, that he didn’t exhaust his entire potential and might never be able to.

This one kid, maybe 5 years younger than him, didn’t take no for an answer though. He started trying to provoke him, first physically by annoying him and trying to start some roughhousing. But very quickly he realized it didn’t work on Derek and soon he got verbal. And it wasn’t pretty. The moment the words “puppy alpha” and “useless human” fell Derek went wild. He thrashed at the 20 year old, uncaring if he took any bruising at all or might even get a serious flesh wound. And nothing could calm him down until Cora got her hands on his phone and made him look at his background picture:

Scott, Stiles, Isaac and Boyd from Lacrosse training or something. It anchored Derek as fast as lightning. Still weeks later, back in Beacon Hills after his sister insisted it’d be better for him, he believed the entire pack to be his new anchor.

Now that he was sort of reunited with his wolf he realized that it was actually always Stiles that had calmed him down.

 

“Yeah, I’m… I have to tell you something.”

Her smile fell a little, dulling the brightness that she formerly showed in her face.

“Oh god, did you sleep with another psychopathic woman? No, wait, worse? Did you get her pregnant this time? I’m not sure I’m ready to be the aunt of a demon spawn…”

“Cora, no! No, I did not- what the hell is wrong with you?”

She quirked her lips again, probably because this was so much like our old banter used to be. I wasn’t in the mood for reminiscence though. I took a deep breath, coincidentally breathing in the scent of Stiles that was on the hoodie he had given me and that I was still wearing. That my sister didn’t comment about that…

“Okay, so what is it?”

“It’s about Stiles. Or me. I don’t really-“

“Oh my god, that’s Stiles’ clothes, right? I knew it! The two of you are hooking up!” Never before have I wished to trade my natural gifts with the power to reach through the computer screen and physically shut my sister up.

“No! It’s… more complicated than that.”

And without a further prelude I started telling her what had happened the night before.

“So he’s your mate. That’s awesome! I mean, it’s Stiles, but you finally found the right person and you can stop running after the bad girls.”

I fidgeted, looking at my hands that I kept rubbing together to get rid of the nervous sweat breaking out on my palms. Even the memory of yesterday was making me uncomfortable and anxious. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to relive it.

“It doesn’t matter. He didn’t accept me as his mate.”

“What?! Stilinski rejected you? Oh, I’m gonna come to Beacon Hills and give him a piece of my mind, that little ungrateful sh-“

“Cora, stop. He’s completely entitled to his decision. I just wish he had given us a chance, you know? He probably never thought of me that way.”

His sister was catching his gaze then. And her glare was so skeptical that he might have believed he should rethink his own words for a moment. But none of it seemed to make sense.

“I’m sorry, brother, but did you not notice that the kid constantly smells like a whore house around you? And it’s exclusively around you, at least in that intensity. Are you sure he completely rejected you? Like, what exactly did he say?”

“He said that I seem like a completely different person, and that he’s not comfortable with dating me now that I just out of nowhere recognized him as my mate. Like, he thinks it’ll ruin our friendship.”

Cora’s bitchface got even more intense.

“Shut up. He did not. That’s a load of bullshit and you know it, Der.”

“Well, it’s what he said.”

She sighed and ran a hand down her face, wiping away a little sweat in the process. It reminded Derek of exercising and how good of a distraction that could be right now.

“Okay. So you stay friendly for now. Easy. And eventually he’ll realize there’s no point in denying his own boner and you two will be happily claimed until the end of your days.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Duh, but that doesn’t mean you can’t handle putting up the emotionally constipated face. You’re pretty well trained in that by now, right?”

That was it. The daily limit of Cora interaction was met. Derek couldn’t do this anymore.

“Go say hi to the Lopez pack for me, and leave me alone.”

“Alright. I’ll see you around.”

She signed off unceremoniously and Derek fell back on his bed sighing in defeat.

His sister was right, as much as he’d like to deny it. He would have to take what he was offered and be satisfied with that. It wasn’t like he had another choice.

In that spirit he tugged the hem of Stiles’ hoodie up to his nose for one last time, took it off and got dressed in something else, and headed out of the door hoodie still in hand.

 

Just because Stiles’ didn’t want to make them an official thing anytime soon didn’t mean he couldn’t allow Derek the satisfaction of scent-marking him.

 

When he knocked on the well-known window of the Stilinski house and Stiles turned around to see that it was Derek, he flailed in surprise.

"He-hey, Derek!"

He's already sliding the window open and stepping inside, even when Stiles was still having a hard time processing his return after their weird agreement not to pursue Derek's new feelings. Or anything new about Derek.

"You, uh, what are you doing here?"

He was breathing in the air of Stiles' room, Stiles' scent in all of it's variations, but he held back from actively pursuing Stiles and sniffing his neck again. He was stronger than that and he had an agenda.

"I'm returning your hoodie. And also, I was wondering if I could hang out for a while."

"As friends." Stiles stated but it seemed a little like he was waiting for Derek to contradict him.

"Yes." he said instead.

He held out the hoodie, for Stiles, and he took it and slid it on without a word. Derek pressed his lips together in a thin line to keep himself from smiling or saying anything stupid.

"Ok. I still need to finish this essay for Econ but you can... do what you always do. Read. In your chair."

Derek's chair. The chair in the corner beside Stiles' bed was Derek's now. Or maybe it's always been that. Something of Stiles also belongs to Derek. He did need to smile at that.

Stiles wasn't there to witness any of it. He had already returned to his Laptop, leaving Derek to look at the changed room.

Really, all the furniture is the same and there's nothing missing or anything. But the lately newly empty walls, that harbored case notes prior to returning to their natural blank state, now was plastered with notes again. Research notes to be exact.

There were Wikipedia articles about pack behavior, stuff about moon cycles, parts of the bestiary printed out and taped to the wall. And then there was a section that Derek was pretty sure was the newest if he judged by the way they still smelled of printer ink.  
And that section was about wolves and mating. About mates.  
"Stiles..."

He was trying not to let his eyes zero in on certain words like "bite" or "knot" and the whole wolf mating mechanics. But it was all there, right before him. And Stiles had felt the need to research it and even print it out after he knew that even remotely what Derek's wolf wants. He felt the way his chest puffed out in pride at the thought of such interest in the situation from his mate, but he tried to ignore that he was doing it.

"Can't right now, you-"

"I'm not a normal wolf, Stiles, that's not what mates are about."

The teenager instantly stopped typing, but he didn't turn around. If anything, he even looked away from Derek more actively.  
"I uh... I guessed so. But that's all I found."

The screen of the laptop started to dim with all the time passing by in silence. The human's heart was beating a mile a minute and his fingers spasmed were he clutched the sides of his computer.  
"Do you want me to tell you?"

It took a moment for Stiles to let go and turn around to face him. A moment in which Derek wondered if he had asked too quietly or if Stiles wanted to pretend he'd never said anything.

"Okay." He looked almost in pain saying the words, which is a look that Derek now hated with a passion. But it was progress. Stiles was hearing him out, giving him a chance. Maybe Cora was wrong and he didn't need to stay friendly until Stiles reconsiders him. Maybe this was all he'd need.  
"But only for research. Just to be clear."

Right. His sister was always right. And never in the world would Derek be allowed to do anything easily.

"Okay. Well first of all, it's more emotional than physical. Mating is like... being promised to someone. The wolf part of us can see the soul of a person, subconsciously. And when they find the one soul that they're sure is strong enough or fitting enough they give that information to the rest of the body. It's like a warning signal and then there's almost nothing else that the wolf focuses on for the next 24 hours. We're the most vulnerable during that time."

"So if you would have been attacked."

"I wouldn't have been able to defend myself. Unless it looked like they were attacking you too."

He gave Stiles a while to process that information. The human was frantically typing something out on his computer again, possibly the information that Derek had just given him. So he went on with his explanation, because there was nothing to wait for.

"After those 24 hours we mostly step away-" "Thank god for that." Stiles commented under his breath.

"and wait for the mate to decide if they accept the bond or not. If they do, it's all like normal dating with a very committed supernatural person. And then there's the consummation which is... admittedly a lot like what it is for normal wolves."

Stiles froze again, his shoulders tensing.  
"But there's no knot!" Derek added quickly, "That would only be if I was trying to impregnate you, which isn't possible anyway because your male so don't worry about it."

"I wasn't worried about that." Stiles argued in a childish tone. But the way the muscles in his upper back relaxed again told a completely different story.  
Either way, Stiles started typing again and quickly added the information to the word document he had opened up.

"And what happens if the mate rejects it?"

"Well, you know, I have to live with that decision."

Stiles turned around in his desk chair, staring Derek down with stony golden eyes.  
"I know I'm going to regret saying this, but don't sugar coat it for me."

Derek shrunk under his scrutiny and sat down on the bed as comfortably as he could. He didn't like losing control of the situation, or more accurately himself, under Stiles' gaze. The wolf in him felt the need to have him close to ask for forgiveness. But he knew better than to do that. He had at least that much control.

"It becomes an eternal inner fight. The wolf side of you is often like a completely separate entity, more instinctual and they feel more needy. They don't understand why they can't be close or have what they want, obviously because they're animals. But the human side of me is more dominant. I can control it."

"But you only just got back into contact with your wolf, right? You're not used to living with it-"

"I'm used to keeping it down."

They looked at each other. Stiles seemed like he was starting to understand Derek's situation, but that didn't mean he would change his mind any time soon.  
"What exactly are you holding down now? I mean, what does the wolf want?"

He had to actually listen in for a moment to answer Stiles question. He closed his eyes to concentrate, tap into that other side of him. He knew he underestimated himself very quickly when he felt the slow loss of control and the blue bleeding into his eyes. Now that they were reconnected changing into his other form, even if it's only his eyes, didn't feel so much like a simple party trick anymore. It felt more like he was letting go hold on his instincts.

"I..." It felt hard to speak normally, without letting his feelings be communicated by sounds. It was challenging, but Derek was nothing if not good at keeping his feelings inside.  
"Want... You to smell happy. You to smell like me. No, mine. And… Protect you. Give you everything you want. Be what you need."

The more he opened up the more he felt his control slip. And he could see how his words were affecting Stiles. How his resolve was slowly growing weaker and weaker. He was leaning forward. And his mouth was opening as if he wanted to say something. Derek could imagine exactly what he wanted to say. How he was strong and could protect himself. How he could get what he want himself. How he knew what he needed and how he was nobody's person. Ever. And it was making him angry. A feeling of possessiveness overwhelmed him. To an extent where he lost himself for a second and couldn't control his hand gripping Stiles' wrist.

"Need to teach you."

And if Stiles' shock was anything to go by Derek had just crossed a line and scared him in some way. Stiles was scared, he was always so scared. No matter how much he was braving up to fight. And Derek knew what the wolf thought he needed. Direction. Domination. An alpha.

He felt that distinct feeling wash over him that he knew from back when he was an actual alpha to a pack. And he clapped down on his instincts and pushed the wolf away as fast as he could. It was a struggle. But as soon as his hand let go of Stiles he knew he'd won.  
"Derek..."

He still looked scared, but more worried now. He didn't get closer again. He leaned away. It was a terrible feeling to know what he'd lost just now. And just because of the bond.

"You-You're eyes. They were red for a moment. How could-"

"It's nothing. It won't happen again."

He got up very quickly. The room smelled bitter, like Stiles' fear. It made him sick to the core.  
"I'm sorry. I should go."

"Derek-"

But he couldn't hear the rest. He was already out the window and far away enough that his one heartbeat echoing in his ears was drowning out any other sounds. Or maybe it was Stiles' heartbeat. Ever since it all changed, he couldn't tell anymore.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will have an extended weekend this week so you might get two more chapters this week.
> 
>  
> 
> I say 'might' because I'm the worst with deadlines.


End file.
